This invention relates to medicine-dispensing devices and, more particularly, to a programmable medicine-dispensing system.
Heretofore, a variety of medicine-dispensing devices have been proposed. In the patent to Rose et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,954, for example, a medication-dispensing system is provided in which prescription information is encoded into a memory card by a programming device located at a pharmacy in accordance with a physician's instructions. The memory card is inserted by the patient into a dispenser which automatically releases the appropriate medication at the required times and provides a corresponding alarm and visual indication on a screen. The dispenser includes sensors which detect the removal of medication from a delivery compartment to record compliance by the patient, but failure of the patient to remove the medication will not prevent the dispenser from continuing its programmed operation but instead may send an alarm to a remote location. This system is intended for use by a patient at a facility where supervising personnel can observe monitors and take corrective action promptly, but is not portable or useful in an environment where the patient must follow a regimen without close supervision by others.
The patent to Urquhart et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,997 discloses a dispensing device for pharmaceutical preparations which is programmed with information concerning a dosing regimen and permits the user to deviate within limits from the regimen and monitors the deviations while preventing dispensing outside the predetermined limits. The dispensing device has a data communication interface for communicating with a physician or pharmacist and includes a display screen on which instructions and inquiries may be displayed.
The Mcintosh et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,056 discloses a programmed medication clock having a plurality of separate compartments for different types of medication along with a separate indicator and acknowledgment switch adjacent to each compartment to indicate the compartment from which medication is to be taken and to acknowledge taking of the medication by the user. The Lloyd et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,463 shows a medication alarm device with separate holders for removable medication containers and corresponding indicator lights to designate a container from which medication is to be taken.
In the Schollmeyer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,153, a cap for a medication container includes a programmable prompting device which is programmed in accordance with the physician's prescription instructions to automatically prompt a patient to take medication at prescribed times. The prompting device is programmed by plugging it into a pharmacist's programming station which is connected to a computer for supplying programming instructions in accordance with the physician's prescription.
The Bender U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,551 discloses a pill dispenser usable by a patient with no supervision. According to that patent, a manually-advanced pill dispenser is provided for periodic delivery of medication at timed intervals and failure to remove a pill from the dispenser at the required time will prevent further advance of the dispensing system. The patents to Carlson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,801; Wirtschafter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,303; McLaughlin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,042; Cole et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,765; and Shepherd et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,327, similarly disclose dispensing arrangements in which removal of medication at the appropriate time is detected.
The Shepherd et al. patent also discloses a refill alarm, as does the Kehr et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,176, and the latter patent also discloses an arrangement for dispensing prescribed drugs at variable times in accordance with the patient's activities. None of the prior art, however, provides a programmable medicine dispenser in which a separable data storage unit may be programmed by a physician or a pharmacist to provide specific instructions with respect to each drug to be taken and which also requires the patient to properly confirm that he has followed the instructions or which releases a drawer containing medications and provides a visual indication of the location of medication to be taken.